An apparatus for launching and retrieving a boat from a body of water, comprising:
- a first rail assembly for guiding a trailer, said first rail assembly having a distal end and a proximal end, said first rail assembly comprising an upper rail and two lower shafts, each of said lower shafts being elongate, each of said shafts having a longitudinal axis, each of said longitudinal axes of said shafts extending substantially parallel to each other, a cross section of said first rail assembly being configured as an equilateral triangle with said upper rail lying at one apex of said equilateral triangle and said lower shafts each lying at the other apexes of said equilateral triangle, said triangle having an apex directed upward and a horizontal base, said upper rail forming said apex, said distal end having an upstanding member thereon, said upstanding member being fixedly coupled to and extending upwardly away from said distal end of said rail, said rail having a gap therein, said gap being located at a point between a midsection of said first rail assembly and the proximal end of said first rail assembly, said gap defining two portions of said first rail assembly, said portions being hingedly coupled together by a hinge, said hinge being mounted on said upper rail such that said proximal end of said first rail assembly is capable of being lifted upward such that said portions of said first rail assembly are oriented generally perpendicular to each other;
- wherein said upper rail bends downward at said distal end and said proximal end such that said upper rail extends to a point generally between said two lower shafts, said lower shafts bending toward each other at said distal end and said proximal end such that said upper rail and said lower shafts intersect each other to define a point,
- a second rail assembly for guiding said trailer, said second rail assembly being substantially identical to said first rail, said second rail assembly extending parallel to said first rail assembly, said second rail assembly being aligned with said first rail assembly such that a line drawn perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said first rail assembly and intersecting said proximal end of said first rail assembly will intersect a proximal end of said second rail;
- wherein the area between said first and second rail assemblies defines an interior area, such that an interior lower shaft of said first and second rail assemblies is defined;
- a plurality of connecting rods for connecting the first rail assembly to the second rail assembly, said rods extending between said first and second rail assemblies, said rods each having a first end and a second end, each of said first ends of said rods being fixedly coupled to said interior bottom shaft of said first rail, each of said second ends of said rods being fixedly coupled to said interior bottom shaft of said second rail, each of said first and second ends of said rods being removably coupled such that said rods are adaptable to have a variable length, wherein the lengths of the rods are adjustable to vary the distance between said first and second rail assemblies;
- four legs for supporting the rail assemblies, a pair of said legs being attached to said first and said second rail assemblies, each of said legs having an adjustable height;
- an electric winch for pulling said trailer on said rails, said winch being generally located adjacent to said proximal ends of said first and said second rails, said winch generally being located between said proximal ends of said first and second rails, said winch being mounted to said first and second rail assemblies;
- said trailer for transporting a boat, said trailer having a first, second and third axle, wherein said second axle is positioned between said first and third axles, each of said axles having a longitudinal axis being orientated generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said first rail assembly, said axles being connected by an elongate bar, said elongate bar having a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said axles, said elongate bar being fixedly coupled to said first and second axles, said third axle being removably coupled to said elongate bar, a juncture of said elongate bar and said axles being positioned generally at longitudinal midpoints of said axles, each of said axles having a pair of ends, each of said ends of said axles having a wheel thereon, each of said wheels having an inside portion and an outside portion such that said inside portion of said wheels are rotationally coupled to said ends of said axles, each of said wheels having a perimeter surface between said inside and outside portions, said wheels being adapted to ride on said upper rail of said first and second rails, wherein said perimeter surface of each of said wheels is concave;
- a pair of tires for supporting said trailer on a roadway, one of said tires being mounted to an outside portion of each of said wheels which are mounted to said second axle, said tires having a circumference greater than the wheels to which they are attached;
- wherein said first axle is closer in proximity to said proximal end of said rail than is said third axle;
- and
- wherein said elongate bar has an end adapted to be removably coupled to said electric winch.